Danmachi : Shinigami Chapter 23 23: Planning

That day, atop the walls of Orario, a golden-haired Elf leaned against the ramparts, watching the battle unfold below.

Or rather, it was a sparring match.

But the ferocity of the clash had reached the intensity of a life-or-death struggle!

"Sharpen your senses! Your movents are still hesitant. What are you hesitating about?"

Clang!

Gojouno Kaguya who's currently wielding a katana, slashed diagonally at a black-haired youth.

The blades collided.

Rayleigh shifted his sword to the right, using the force of the impact to maneuver around Kaguya.

Facing a Level 2 opponent, he could not hope to parry her weapon directly.

His only option was to redirect her montum and slip past her defenses.

But Kaguya's kodachi already blocked his escape.

"Your intentions are too obvious! The angle of your foot betrayed your plan. Make your movents smaller, more subtle."

Swish!

The kodachi sliced across Rayleigh's arm.

Despite the sharp pain, Rayleigh kept his focus on Kaguya.

For the past two months, he had been training with her to improve his combat skills.

Their weapons were the sa, and he had witnessed the sheer skill of her swordsmanship in battle.

Even in Orario, she was one of the best swordswoman.

Knowing he could heal himself with Kaidō, Rayleigh had insisted she hold nothing back, even if it ant drawing blood.

Once, his abdon was pierced straight through!

Even more terrifying was that Kaguya did not stop even when Rayleigh, writhing in agony from the wound, dared to move.

In the end, he sustained twelve blade wounds.

From then on, even when injured, he never relaxed his guard, having grown accustod to the pain.

Swords clashed repeatedly.

Rayleigh, distracted by the fight, tripped over Kaguya's foot as the battle ended.

Kaguya once explained why she would not stop even when she's fighting Rayleigh with a pierced abdon, yet ended the fight simply because he fell.

"Even with a pierced abdon, you will not die instantly. Your feet are still planted on the ground, your hands still grip your weapon, your strength has not waned, and your mind remains clear. In such a state, how can anyone claim victory?"

Rayleigh found her reasoning irrefutable and accepted it without argunt.

Conversely, being tripped left him vulnerable.

A decisive strike from his opponent could claim his life.

Ryuu was present because she too was fascinated by Kaguya's swordsmanship.

Though the two occasionally bickered, their bond was strong.

"Well done, let's call it a day for now," Rayleigh said, using Kaidō to nd his wounds.

Kaguya paused as a flicker of unspoken reluctance crossing her eyes.

"Do you have sothing to do later?" she asked.

Rayleigh nodded. "It's about the workshop."

Kaguya blinked, then let out an "Ah," as if rembering sothing. "Right, is it finished?"

"It seems so."

Ryuu stepped forward with a smile. "Since the workshop is complete. Alise will definitely be happy."

Rayleigh chuckled, thinking of how hard Alise had worked these past two months to earn the hundred million Valis.

Even so, she never neglected maintaining order in the city, leaving Rayleigh marveling at her unwavering sense of justice.

After saying goodbye to the two won, he headed to the Goibniu Familia.

Like the Hephaestus Familia, the Goibniu Familia specialized in production and comrce, though on a smaller scale.

They also handled custom weapon and armor orders, repairs, and modifications, with quality rivaling that of the Hephaestus Familia.

In addition, they offered construction services.

Rayleigh's visit was to inspect the workshop built by Goibniu's artisans. Two months earlier, he had commissioned the project for 35 million Valis.

Today was the delivery date.

"See? This is the workshop our top craftsn built together!" the Goibniu blacksmith announced.

Rayleigh stepped into his new forge and felt the warmth.

For a forge, sudden temperature drops could disrupt the forging process, even in the sweltering sumr heat.

Rayleigh planned to forge items beyond Zanpakuto, making these features essential.

"The furnace matches your specifications, and here is the hamr. What do you think? Satisfied?"

Rayleigh exerted his strength to lift the massive hamr.

Over the past two months, his stats had improved.

His Strength had reached A-Rank, and his Endurance was just a hair's breadth away from achieving the sa.

Once stats exceeded C-Rank, the difficulty of further advancent increased exponentially.

Sotis, the sheer struggle to improve made him doubt whether his growth had stalled.

"This is excellent work. I'm satisfied," Rayleigh said, setting down the hamr.

The craftsman replied, "Of course! This is orichalcum you know. Do you have any idea how much effort it took to forge this into a hamr?"

Orichalcum, the hardest tal known, is typically used for safes, treasury doors, critical defensive structures, and equipnt with indestructible properties.

Its extre hardness makes it difficult to work with, making it a nightmare for blacksmiths and artisans.

"The upper floor is residential," the craftsman continued. "The isolation layer is excellent, ensuring your living and working spaces remain separate."

"Thank you."

"Ha, it's nothing, just doing my job. Here are the three keys."

Rayleigh took the keys and pocketed them.

After seeing the craftsman from Goibniu off, he took another walk around the house.

Now he finally had a place of his own in this world!

Though the purchase had drained a significant portion of his savings, he knew he would soon be receiving another hundred million Valis, so he wasn't worried.

Alise had already reached the maximum stats for Level 2, needing only to achieve a Great Feat to advance to Level 3.

Lyra had leveled up to Level 2 last month, making Rayleigh the only Level 1 mber of the team.

Before they tead up, Lyra had been stuck at Level 1 for nearly two years, so she was overjoyed when she finally leveled up.

For Alise, the Captain of the Astraea Familia, Rayleigh decided to forge Engetsu as her Zanpakuto.

This was his first attempt at forging a Captain-level figure blade .

Engetsu was a Fire-type Zanpakuto.

Wrapping its blade in flas to enhance its attack power was just the basics, it could also scorch and detonate opponents, perfectly complenting Alise's magic and skills.

Next, it was his own Zanpakuto.

Haineko and Ruri'iro Kujaku were blades he had forged over two months ago to et specific needs.

Since neither blade excelled in raw attack power, he planned to forge a new one!

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Bonus chapter for every 100 stones!

And yes, there will be a unique zanpakuto that doesnt belong to bleach world.